SHADOW foreign secretary Emily Thornberry demanded an explanation from the government today after it was revealed that British spyware was used by the Honduran government in a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.

Her letter to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson asked for detail on whether the spyware sales went through the procedures for arms exports, which involves four government departments.

Ms Thornberry also sought clarity on what purpose British officials were told that the equipment would be used for and what steps were taken to confirm this.